Most still need permits, renovations to open their doors after winning initial approval on Feb. 12

Two months after they won initial approval to become the city’s first sanctioned medical marijuana shops, there isn’t much going on at the 11 locations allowed to start selling cannabis under Measure Z, the ballot initiative that voters passed in November.

Though they received word on Feb. 12 that their applications survived the city’s random selection lottery and scrutiny under the measure’s various approval requirements, just two have so far submitted building plans necessary to begin the renovations that would, with additional permit approvals, allow them to open, said John Conley, the city’s director of community development and engineering in an email.

At the moment, Conley said, applicants intending to open dispensaries in a strip mall at South Santa Fe Drive and Civic Center Drive, and a brightly-painted stand-alone storefront on East Vista Way, have been the first to file paperwork. A third, with approval to open in one leg of an L-shaped strip mall further north on Vista Way, has been granted a demolition permit but has not yet applied for a building permit.

Officials with both organizations said they’re targeting late spring or early summer to open their doors, though permitting hurdles make it impossible to predict precisely how long it will take to arrive at ribbon-cutting day.

Justin Christman, co-owner of Red Rhino Remedies, the business that plans to open at 954 S. Santa Fe Ave., said Friday that the organization has requested a license from the state Bureau of Cannabis Control and plans are in the works to apply for several city licenses needed to open a business. The idea, he said, is to operate under the name “Flora Verde.”

“We are told it could take up to three months to get the state license. I think opening in June is plausible and, hopefully, by July,” Christman said.

Damian Martin, the licensing attorney for Manuel Migueles Collective, said the Los Angeles-based business that plans to operate as “Wildflower” in Vista will soon start the application process for a state license. Like Red Rhino, the collective is optimistic about opening in mid-2019.

“Wildflower’s goal is to be the first Measure Z medical cannabis dispensary to open in the City of Vista, and, on that note, is hopeful that it will be open for July Fourth weekend,” Martin said in an email.

Conley did not want to speculate on whether specific opening dates are doable, noting that each business faces a unique set of requirements influenced by the requirements of their specific properties and other factors. In general, though, he said there is a general rule of thumb.

“It typically takes about six months to get permits and complete construction for most smaller commercial businesses,” Conley said.

Though the Vista City Council was none too happy about Measure Z and even ran its own counter-proposal on the November ballot, there are no signs that the city is dragging its feet now that the formal application process is over and a handful of lawsuits against the city which cried foul at its random selection process have been dropped.

“The city has been cooperative and responsive with the building permit process, and Wildflower has already received an initial round of feedback from the city,” Martin said.

Measure Z is quite specific about where dispensaries can be located, requiring that they be kept at least 600 feet away from schools and at least 500 feet away from each other.

Finding a property that met those spacing requirements within certain zoning classifications and that also had an owner willing to lease to a medical marijuana business, Christman said, was the first hurdle that had to be cleared before even filing an application.

“We were informed by our attorney that this is the most difficult thing about the process, and it was,” Christman said.

For approved locations, Measure Z is equally prescriptive about how dispensaries must be operated and secured.

Each must have professionally monitored fire and security alarm systems, locked product storage areas and surveillance camera networks capable of storing at least 30 days of footage.

Each business must employ at least one armed or unarmed and licensed security guard who must be present on premises during operating hours which, at a maximum, are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Christman said his team is working to meet or exceed all requirements.

“We’re investing heavily in security cameras, storage systems, vaulting and safes. It’s one area where we are not sparing any expense,” Christman said.

Smoking or eating marijuana at dispensaries is prohibited. No one younger than age 18 is allowed to enter a dispensary unless they are a “qualified patient” and “accompanied by his or her primary caregiver, licensed attending physician, parent or documented legal guardian.”

Measure Z also requires proprietors to meet olfactory expectations. The measure requires “odor absorbing ventilation and exhaust systems so that odor generated inside the location ... is not detected outside.”

Dispensaries also must carry commercial general liability insurance of not less than $1 million per occurrence. One parking spot is required per 1,000 square feet of building space.